If the Dust doesn't kill Me
by C707
Summary: Common Vale citizen Lee Kangano gets a visit from team RWBY after another Dust experiment goes completely wrong. With their help, he may be able to fulfill his lifelong dream of training to be a Huntsman, and gain some companions along the way. Follow team RWBY as they work to set a new friends future!
1. Explosive Results and New Company

**-INTRO-**

The bell above the door to Lee's Dustshop rang as its new occupant passed through. Lee Kangano was your average seventeen year old of the planet Remnant; Average family, average school, average life. Although one thing in particular was unusual about him: his constant interest with dust and its deadly nature. Ever since childhood, he marveled every aspect of it. Eventually, he let curiosity lead the way, bringing him into the world of chemistry and "Dust Mechanics" as he called it. With the help of his father (and his wallet), they purchased a small office within downtown Vale, and converted the basement into a partial "lab" for Lee to use to manipulate ground level floor was to be used to sell normal Dust. Yes, his father technically owned the shop, but he let Lee be the unofficial owner. Surprisingly, they were turning a good profit, enabling Lee to use more of any left over stock that wasn't going to sell. His experiments continue, hoping that good results could get him into Beacon.

**-CHAPTER 1: EXPLOSIVE RESULTS AND NEW COMPANY-**

Lee made his was into the shop as usual, throwing his black hooded trench coat on one of six brass hooks by the door. He sat down in a seat by the front desk, and pulled out his scroll. Today was the start to the weekend, which meant the Shop was closed, unlike most. A plus to this was all the girls from Beacon would be in town to shop and what not. Tapping away at the touchscreen, his father's contact picture flew into view, along with a large green CALL button. They both made an agreement that if he was there by himself, he would be required to be able to contact Dad at a moments notice if "miscalculations in the dust to explosive materials ratio" arose. Setting it on the front desk, he moved downstairs. Throwing a few switches, the overhead lights illuminated to reveal many different chemistry setups settled on different tables, along with a plexiglass box with a blast shield. A workbench sat in the far right corner. Sitting down there, he pulled out a foam filled drawer containing multiple bottles of Schnee brand Dust. Pulling out a red vile, he chuckled slightly after pulling the cork; He has had more than a few "warming experiences". Moving over to a nearby table, be continued where he left off yesterday~

Team RWBY was glad the school week finally ended. Professor Port had been even more dulling with his "heroic and bold" lectures, only to have Bartholomew's sudden movements bring them into extreme alertness a short while later. Heading to the airdock, money at the ready, they hopped on an arriving Dustplane. Departing shortly after, they all took to their respectable positons. Ruby sat in one of the chairs, chatting with Yang. Yang herself stood at the window, taking an occasional glance at the approaching rooftops. Weiss sat across from Ruby, smirking at the improper subjects regarding boys that the two discussed. And then there was Blake, quietly reading her book, oblivious to all around her. "I'm pretty sure Dad wouldn't approve of all this, Yang." Ruby said this with nervous enthusiasm, feeling like their father was behind them right then and there. "Oh come on!" Yang almost playfully screamed. "What he doesn't hear can't hurt him." She said this with a suggestive grin. Their argument was calmly ended as the vessel landed in Downtown Vale. Walking off the ship, the group separated. "I'm heading to the cafe. Call if you need me." Blake was practically already walking before she could get the words out to the three. Looking at one another, they decided to go window shopping.

Lee knew very well the extreme level of danger behind his hobby. Today was no different. Watching a beaker slowly fill with a blood red solution of modified dust, he threw on some safety glasses, just to be safe. The goal of late had been simple: Weaponize dust into a liquified form, and never need a blade or gunpowder again. Of course, this has proved to be more than a challenge. After many unintended explosions, burns, and dry wall repairs, he finally was on the verge of something. As the last of the liquid ceased to exit the spout, he quickly put a lid on the solution and put it into the plexiglass container. Grabbing his scroll from upstairs, he switched it to record a video. Heading back down, he put it on a stand focused on the box, he waited for the recording light to appear before beginning his statement: "Trial Number 37, Red dust, Propulsion Test via air pressure. Moving the shield into place, he wheeled a small air compressor connected to an air cannon into view. Filling a compartment on the cannon with the liquid, he backed up behind the shield and stuck his face into the small viewing slit. Positioning the barrel into the box, he prepared to pull the trigger. "Firing in 3...2...1..." And with that, he pulled the trigger.

Ruby and the girls were eyeballing shoes through a store window when they heard a nearby explosion. "Man, can we ever get a break!?" Yang yelled as the group took off to the source of the commotion, drawing their weapons. Running up to a small building, they watched as a boy their age stumbled out of the front door coughing, pieces of a charred t-shirt falling off as he went. Scroll in hand, he managed a "Trial Number 37: Failure" before moving into another coughing episode. Concluding with one final clearing of his throat, his Dad's dull expression showed up on his device with a "Your paying for the drywall this time around" before killing the video feed. Huffing while he looked up, he finally noticed the girls staring at him, with expressions of surprise that could match no other. He quickly stood as best he could look, given the circumstances. "Can you tell us what the heck just happened!?" Yang's face caught Lee's attention before anything else. Quickly throwing off his now black safety goggles, he tried to slick back his hair, but to no avail. The outline of clean skin around his eyes from the goggles could be seen a mile away, along with two fierce green irises that broke through the soot. "Long story short, ladies, I made a small...error in my Dust mixture." He tried his best to keep his eyes up from Yang's "equipment" as he spoke. "Wait a minute, no ordinary girls go and pack weapons around like that for kicks, your from Beacon!" His eyes lit up, and the girls couldn't help but slightly smile. " I'm Lee! Come inside, I'll fill you in!"

"So, are you sure everybody is fine with this?" Weiss's tone cut through the air like a knife. "You know, blowing up for Dust's sake!" Everybody had moved inside once the smoke cleared. Sitting around the front desk, he told them most of what he was doing. "Yes, by about the third or fourth time they just started ignoring it. Fellow Shopkeepers, that is." He had washed his face off in the bathroom, but still had to deal with not having a shirt. Despite being slender, he had built a small amount of muscle for anything from parkour, to wrestling with the guys. "Obviously, but why?" Weiss couldn't help but worry about the brand of Dust he was using, the Company didn't need another lawsuit. "Like you guys, I wanted to be a Huntsman, but my family never had the money." His calm expression moved slightly to sadness."I figured if I could make my own weapon, I'd get noticed easily enough. Think, liquid Dust! Nothing else would be like it." He looked at all three. "Its just..." He paused for a minute. "It's tough to accomplish, if you couldn't tell." Ruby and Yang were moved at this, but Weiss wasn't having any of it. "Lee, Beacon is for only the most dedicated, the best." She suddenly grew angry noticing the Schnee Logo on a nearby shelf with multiple Dust crystals for sale. "And we wont require idiots that go about ruining perfectly good Schnee Dust!" Idiots that think that they will get lucky and be accepted in to one of the greatest academies like Ruby here!" She brought her thumb about, nearly smacking Ruby in the nose."Those shopkeepers may be fine with it, but I'm not." And with that, she stormed out the door, so red in the face that one would think she used Dust for makeup.

Lee stood there in amazement. The sudden explosion from the heiress put the Dust's attempt to shame. Looking at Ruby, then Yang, he collapsed into a chair, and stared into the floor, quietly sobbing. He never cried, no matter what failure came about. But to hear those words from a student of Beacon itself did the job. Both girls moved over to each side of him, trying to comfort him. "Weiss is sensitive about Schnee Dust, try not to worry about it" Ruby said with quiet enthusiasm. "Ah Lee, It's nothing. Let me see what you do." Yang's sudden determination to bring him back from sorrow got him to look up and relax as fast as started crying. Wiping off his face, he stood, and hoisted both girls up with renewed vigor. Someone besides Dad actually interested in what he was doing, and he wasn't going to disappoint this time.

**So, Chapter 1! This is my first fanfic, try not to shoot me down too fast! If this story gets a few hits, I will continue indefinitely. Anybody willing to help me improve the quality is welcome! Thanks! *C707 HAS LEFT THE BUILDING***


	2. Experiment by Example

**-CHAPTER 2: EXPERIMENT BY EXAMPLE-**

Heading downstairs, the group made way over to the source of the explosion. "So exactly what were you trying to do here?" Yang causally asked, examining the somewhat interesting burn marks on the wall. The corner that made up the test area was often black, it didn't bug Lee. " As you know, with the Dust in a liquid state, it becomes even more unstable that its powdered form." He smudged the plexiglass. "Lately, I have been looking for a way to propel it quickly without being triggered." He removed the liquid Dust cartridge from the cannon. Opening it, he gave it a tap on the side to demonstrate. In an instant brilliant yellow flame erupted from the lid, but for a mere second. "Hey easy!" Yang and Ruby jumped back in response. He turned to them with a grin. "No, not easy at all." the grin disappeared, replaced by perplexion and slight irritation. " This weapon I would make, it would need to dispense the Dust and allow it to detonate at a certain distance." This had stumped him from the start. It was part of the "Master Plan", but he never went into detail with that portion of it. Walking over to the workbench, he plugged his scroll into a separate screen. "You can watch the previous trials, I'm going to reset the experiment." Upon hitting play, the girls watched with interest as random trials were concluded with variable explosions, Dust drying out, and rarely, mere sparks.

After Trial number 23, the two eventually got the idea. With the occasional clank of glass in the background, they grew bored and left the screen. Walking over to Lee, they watched as he reoriented a displaced burner back onto its stand. "So, which Dust do you want to see used, Yang? I have red, yellow, and white." She humorously brought a hand to her chin. "How about the white?" He raised his eyebrows in response. "Grab some a few ear-plugs from the box over there, along with three sets of goggles...don't want to wreck those pretty eyes. " Yang did as instructed, bringing everything back in a large jumble with a smile and slight blush on her face. As the three prepared to put on the ear-plugs, he stopped the two for a moment. "White Dust equals sheer kinetic energy, so be on your toes."

Grabbing the canister of white Dust, he moved to the first table, pouring a small amount into the first beaker. "Keep one plug out so I can explain." The girls complied. "Okay, since this Dust is powder, it is classified as a solid. And no, there is NO way would I try to liquify it with heat!" Yang's question was cut short before she could even get it out. "So, with that in mind, there needed to be another way around this problem." He grabbed another beaker from a shelf, and held it up for the girls to observe. "This is that solution!" he exclaimed with enthusiasm. "Lee, what is that?" Ruby's innocent curiosity kept him from completely laughing. "It is a substance similar to watery glue, but I have altered it to only adhere to Dust." He sloshed the clear liquid around under the light. "I combine the two, and basically that's that." Finishing, he about-faced and poured small measurements of each together in a vile. That being complete, he corked the vile, and inserted it into a small apparatus. "So now, we let dynamic equilibrium do the rest! That, in a rough definition, means becoming evenly mixed, Ruby." Her confused expression was replaced by a smirk. She didn't know most of the terms mentioned, but that did not mean that she was completely oblivious. He flipped a switch and a light buzz ensued. "This just speeds up the process, without killing us." He turned away from the vile and looked to the testing area. "In the mean time, we could set this back up. He gestured accordingly. Each test was different for every type of Dust, and luckily this one didn't involve fire. He grabbed a bowl full of small rubber balls, and emptied them in the plexiglass box, before sealing it around the barrel of the air cannon. He subconsciously did all the work, only realizing this after cleaning off the viewing slit within the shield.

A few minutes later, the buzzing ceased, prompting Lee and the girls to regain focus on liquid Dust. "Now" he began, "The fun part." He once again put his scroll on the stand, and loaded the new mixture in the cannon. He began this experiment with "Trial Number 38, White Dust, Kinetic Repulsion test via air pressure. Note the assistance of Ruby..." he looked at her, getting a "ROSE" mouthed back at him, Yang followed after. "R-Ruby Rose and Yang Xiao Long ".

With all three behind the glass, ear-plugs in, he felt the adrenaline pump as he began the countdown. This was the first time he had people there to witness it. "3...2..- WHAT IN THE NAME OF DUST ARE YOU DOING LEE!?" Weiss's literal scream made the group jump as she casually walked to the edge of the last stair. This caused Lee to tighten up, pulling the trigger as he did. The modified dust shot out from the end of the barrel, drenching the little spheres. As one began to erratically bounce off each wall, it disturbed the others into doing that as well. This generated massive noise, loud enough to drown out everybody's' voice. By the time this occurred, Lee had already sprinted to Weiss, shoving his pair of ear plugs into her ears before grabbing another pair from the box. "LEE!" Weiss had no idea of what was to happen next. The overall wear-and-tear on the testing box had reached its limit. Seeing the cracks appear, he loaded a canister of water into the cannon and fired. The water rendered the solution to nothing, and all but one ball now ceased to move. This ball, with one final impact, broke through the barrier and proceeded to travel about the room,with ludicrous speed. Getting everybody to the ground, Yang could only yell "LOOK OUT" before the ball flew straight into Lee's chest, sending him flying into the nearby wall.

The ball continued its path of chaos until one well placed shot from Ember Celica brought about its demise. "Lee? You okay?" Yang nervously inquired as a groan came from Lee. Lifting his head up, he pulled one arm out to the front of him, beckoning someone to pull him out. Yang was the first to get to him. With a light tug, he fell from his position, bringing half of the drywall with him. A hilarious imprint of a male body was now void of its owner. "Ouughh..." He rubbed his hand across his mouth, revealing a bit of blood from both the lip and nose. Stumbling over to the his scroll, he ended the experiment:"Trial 38, failure of testing elements. Dust response and activity: Partial Success." setting it down on his workbench, he fell into a nearby seat. "WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU DAMMIT!" Weiss had only enough time to pull Myrtenaster from its sheath before Ruby swatted it down. "Weiss, calm down! He saves you and this is what you do!?" Weiss took a moment to consider, before scoffing and relieving her weapon. " None of this should even be happening, Ruby." Her cold tone was relentless. Looking to Lee, she spoke with little remorse: "You should know better. Consider ALL this done." She grabbed every bottle of Dust from the workbench drawer. "The use of these materials are not to be wasted on petty science projects. You will receive a check in the mail equal in value to this Dust." She walked out, not even thanking him for keeping her from harm.

Lee didn't even care. 38 tries, and finally a glimmer of hope actually revealed itself among the vast shroud of failure. The new Dust did as he had planned. The ball would "hurt" itself with every impact. "Please don't be mad, Lee." Ruby and Yang both looked to him again with sympathy. He responded with a very real laugh, before wincing and grabbing his side. "Girls, that is the least of my problems. I think a broke a few ribs... probably going have a lot of down time for now..." He was about to stand before Yang stopped him. "Do you know what aura is?" she asked. He shook his head. As far as he knew, it was something he could only remember from his father's bedtime stories when he was younger. "Stay still." She placed a hand on his bare chest, and emitted a glow as she spoke. All activity within Lee's mind stopped. From his perspective, the faint echoing voice of Yang speaking something of immortality was all he could hear. As she finished, a feeling of wholeness with himself and everything around him grew strong.

Returning from his trance, he breathed in heavily as he felt the broken ribs slide back into place. Looking to his left, he noticed Yang in a chair next to his, breathing like she just ran a marathon. "This cant be real... It was just a story..." His thoughts moved through his mind so fast, it reminded him of the rubber ball that hit him. "Yang, did you just do what I thought you did?" She responded with a nod. Looking up a Ruby, she smiled back at him. She had decided on something... Something truly important.~

Now outside the shop, Ruby and Yang prepared to disembark. Lee threw on his coat, but left it unbuttoned as it was relatively warm out. "Lee, Yang and I have something to tell you." Ruby spoke with anticipation to his response. "Yes?" he smiled with curiosity as he watched the two begin to walk back to the downtown airdock to meet up with the others.

"We are going to try to get you into Beacon."

**Chapter 2! It seems these fingers of mine just don't want to stop typing! I am working on it every chance I get. So, The girls want to get Lee accepted into Beacon Academy. How will they do it? Possible pairing is to come in the future. Deciding on a semblance for Lee: Vote for either telekinesis or invisibility! Comments and reviews are gladly accepted. Thanks! *C707 HAS LEFT THE BUILDING***


	3. The new MASTER PLAN

**-CHAPTER 3: THE "NEW" MASTER PLAN-**

Team RWBY departed downtown as soon as Blake showed up, demonstrating signs of a caffeine crash, along with the strong scent of coffee. Weiss sat by herself, with only Lee's Dust to keep her company. The rest of the team sat in a small group, making sure Weiss was out of earshot. "Yes, I want to build his weapon." Ruby's confidence was untouchable. "Yang would train him, and since we don't know what his semblance is, we can leave that to you." Blake merely nodded, she had no idea who this guy is, but if Ruby was willing, then she was, too. "So, where do we start?" Blake asked. "With this." She clicked CALL on Lee's scroll number.

Lee exchanged his scroll contact with Ruby's before they left, but he didn't expect a call that fast. He was covered in white drywall dust fixing the wall when he answered. "Yeah, what do you need?" he asked. Ruby told him earlier that they wanted to get him enrolled, and his mind couldn't leave the subject. "Lee, we have a bit of a plan here, but we are gonna need your time and help." he nodded. "Go on..." "I need to know what the weapon is going to be, to start. Come up with some concepts, and I can probably build it." She patted Crescent Rose. "Yang agreed to train you, but we need a weapon before we can do that. However, Blake here can teach you to utilize your semblance, whatever it is, while I do my thing." Blake looked at his being through the screen, sizing up the challenge. "I have basic designs, Ruby, just not as complex as you would like." He sent a few images of the idea to her scroll from his. "Will that do?" Ruby scanned the images. "Gauntlets, and Greaves, that shoot your liquid Dust?" He nodded in agreement. "Also, Ruby..." He began. "As sad as it is to say it, I would like retractable blades in the design as well, in case I run out of "ammo"." He smirked slightly. Ruby smiled. "I think that will be able to work. Plus, Yang can train you in that weapon type!" Yang slightly blushed. "We will only be able to see you on weekends, unless the three of us can convince Ozpin to let you visit Beacon." Lee's eyes lit up brighter than ever before. A chance to go see Beacon would be a part of his dream-come-true. "Excellent, Ladies. I will look forward to doing so, if such an opportunity would arise." The airship suddenly docked at Beacon with a jolt.

"Well, Lee, that's all I have for now. We will keep you updated, bye!" He waved goodbye as Ruby and the others disappeared from his screen. Sighing, he set his scroll down and resumed work on the wall.

Ruby and the others walked off the vessel and walked back to the dorms. Upon entering the room, Weiss walked over to her bed, and slid Lee's Dust supplies under the bed frame. "Weiss! What was that! He saved you!" Weiss didn't blink as Ruby spoke. Resuming standing, she frowned. "Ruby! You ought to know what potential Dust has, you almost killed me with it once, just by sneezing!" Ruby shifted uncomfortably. "He has no idea what he is doing! In fact, I am kind of glad that ball hit him in the gut! It should've told him right then and there to just give up." She sat down on her bed like she just got back from a pleasant lunch. This got Ruby mad, real quick. "I bet "Daddy" didn't make you try 38 times to get what you wanted!" Ruby stormed out of the room, headed to the Forge, Yang and Blake in her wake. Yang glared at Weiss as her and Blake followed behind.

_ 38 tries?_ Weiss thought as her teammates and leader left. She delved deep into the back of her mind. She recalled every moment of satisfaction when she was given something she asked for. _He never could ask, could he?_ Tears welled up in the corners of her eyes. For once, she put herself in another person's shoes. She would only be able to work to accomplish her dreams, with nothing but hope and tenacity. Laying back on her bed, she let the sadness flow out, crying at how she probably crushed Lee's only happiness in life. A knock on the door caught her attention. Through red eyes and sniffles, she opened the door to Headmaster Ozpin, his neutral expression unchanged at the girl's appearance. He took a sip from his coffee.

"Care to explain, Miss Schnee?"

Ruby arrived at Beacon Forge with a frustrated huff. The Forge was obviously used for designing and innovating weapons, far above Signal's standards. The argument with Weiss had left Ruby slightly frazzled. Craning her neck to relax, she waited for the others to catch up. "You okay, Ruby?" Yang asked as soon as she could see her sister. "Yeah, just disappointed with Weiss." She clapped her hands together, throwing away the subject. "Yang, do you have the designs for Ember Cilica?" Yang nodded. "Good, those will be my base for Lee's weapon." They walked into the room. Computers lined the wall to their right, while numerous machines filled the rest of the room. "Yang, copy your schematic files onto a computer. She walked over to one of the consoles, and plugged her scroll in accordingly. The computer system , now containing the proper data, projected a digital version of Ember Cilica onto a nearby screen, before expanding into an exploded view of its assembly. Ruby smiled. "Thanks, sis. Don't worry, Lee's version wont be anything like yours. The Greaves wont need to be messed with until later." Ruby sat down in an office chair, and rolled over to the keyboard and mouse, ready to begin the design process.

"And I left with his Dust! " Weiss sobbed as she finished. Ozpin merely nodded, taking in all the information. "Well, Miss Schnee, it seems you have possibly caused quite the problem." She looked up to him with a face of pure regret. "I have to do something about it..." She wiped the tears off her face. He nodded again. "Do what you believe is correct to fix it, Miss Schnee. I will look into Mr. Kangano and his... experiments." He stood, and left the room as calmly as he entered. Weiss stood, smoothed out her dress, and dialed up Ruby on her scroll.

The rest of the team was still surrounding the computer screen when Ruby's scroll ringtone _This Will be the Day_ filled the room. Seeing the caller as Weiss, Ruby hesitated a moment before answering. "Hello?" Ruby noticed Weiss had been crying. "Ruby, I- I feel horrible. After some thinking, I would like to help you guys to get Lee enrolled." Ruby shot glances at the others, not getting a reply from either girl. "Weiss, how did you figure it out?" She asked. "I'm not that bad when listening to others." Ruby face-palmed for not being quieter earlier. "If you really want to, meet us down here at the Forge."

The heiress arrived shortly after ending the conversation. Joining the team, she looked over what was going on. "Let me guess, is that his weapon?" Weiss asked. Ruby shook her head, putting the final touches on the prototype. The new design was truly unique. "Ruby, could we really do it, you know, get Lee in?" Weiss's skepticism was reduced as soon as Ozpin's statement returned to mind. "Ozpin talked to me, he said he would look into it..." Ruby jumped up from the seat. "Whaa!?" her high pitch squeal nearly made everybody's ears ring. "Wow... come to think about it, I'm not sure what to think.." She scratched her head. "I guess we will just have to push on until he says something." She returned to her seat. He hoped that Ozpin couldn't research too far into the subject, Lee wasn't ready. Hitting a button labeled BUILD PROJECT, she turned as the roar of the surrounding machines began developing step one of the MASTER PLAN.

Looking over two freshly assembled gauntlets, team RWBY stared in awe as soon as Yang tried one on. "Boy", she said with amazement as whirring mechanisms and pieces of metal moved around her wrist.

"He is gonna like this."

** Chapter 3! Glad to have it complete! So, with Ozpin aware of Lee, how will team RWBY respond? On another note, I personally decided on Lee's semblance, stay tuned to figure it out. Chapter 4 is now in progress! Comments/Reviews are always welcome here. Thanks! *C707 HAS LEFT THE BUILDING***


	4. The Boss

**-CHAPTER 4: THE BOSS-**

The rising sun pierced through the window of Lee's bedroom, the warming sensation waking him. Rising from bed, he only had enough time to throw on some pants before the doorbell sounded. "If that's them..." He muttered to himself as he threw open the door to reveal all of team RWBY. "Oh! Uh, hi guys... g-give me a second here..." He jogged to his room and retrieved a shirt, clumsily throwing it on as he returned. Another shirtless first impression... Way to go, Lee. He mentally cursed himself for his lack of manners. "So, this must be the rest of the team?" Ruby replied with an enthusiastic nod of the head. "This is Blake, you probably saw her yesterday over our chat." Blake and Lee exchanged glances. "Indeed, although you are taller than I thought." Blake didn't reply to that. After a brief moment of silence, a bell went off in his head. "You guys want to come in?" he asked. Opening the door, he let the girls file in, migrating to the living room. Sitting down around the coffee table, he noticed Ruby set down a large cloth bag on the table, two clinks of metal on wood came after it settled. "Ruby...?" His logic told him EXACTLY what was contained in that bag. The group, Weiss included, waited for his reaction. With timid hands, he removed the cover to reveal the two gauntlets his dreams envisioned. Sitting there on the table, the two sat top end down, shaped like elongated U's, waiting for a couple of wrists to become part of their system.

Sitting in awe, he tried to say something, but simply could not speak. "Hello, Lee?" Yang asked jokingly. He regained control, staring to the group as he spoke. "Ruby...I don't know what to say.." His humbled tone was brought to an end as Weiss spoke up. "Snap out of it, you dunce! Try those suckers on!" He shook his head smiling, and let his arms settle into the cavities. The minute skin touched metal, parts began to move about like clockwork, expanding from just his wrists all the way up his forearm. Mechanical clicking and whirring followed as a metal cylinder containing slots for small cartridges revealed itself; The contained chaos occurring on his arms ceased. A small illuminated display now appeared at the top of each, Identifying an ammo count, one for each Dust category. "Ruby! Guys! How did you do it!?" Lee couldn't mask his happiness. "For one, I went to Signal, two, had some help from Yang." Ruby moved to poke Ember Cilica with her index finger, Yang playfully slapping her hand before she got anywhere near them. "Blake and Weiss added some constructive criticism, plus the paint job!" Lee just smiled. Leaning back in his seat, he worked to get used to the weight. Weiss now stood, and pulled out a metal container. Opening it revealed Lee's testing Dust, along with a multitude of the weapons grey cartridges, filled with water. "I did some thinking, Lee. I want to formally say sorry, I just got fed up at the time." This was another one of those rare occasions where Weiss expressed genuine sympathy, to the the teams amazement. Lee stood, walked over to Weiss, and gave her a hug, not caring if he took a rapier to the chest. She resisted at first, but accepted it with brief time. "Thank you for understanding, Weiss. I was never really angry, so don't fret over it." He released her, and took focus on the case of supplies. "Ruby, explain to me how all of this works."

Ruby jumped up with excitement, this was again, her time to shine. Grabbing a cartridge (refer to this as a [Color] D Case) and gestured for Lee to follow her lead, pulling up on his arm. He raised his left arm. Moving like she had used his gauntlets since birth, she inserted a few "Water" D Cases into the cylinder. Flipping his hand back up, she performed a step by step showed him how to navigate the display and reload both gauntlets and D Cases. After about 8 minutes of this, he had the concept. "Now" she chimed, "This is how you can fire." She brought his hand up to a level position. "Grab this" She clicked a button on the display, and a glove-like extension expanded from the front. Putting it on accordingly, he waited for further instruction."Each finger shoots the Dust in a different fashion, so pay attention". She directed him to pull in his index finger, and he did. A stream of water erupted from a small barrel, promptly hitting Yang right in the chest.

Lee turned so many shades of red, Ruby's cape couldn't compete. "UH-UH, I...UM...o-oh boy..." His stuttering had Yang laughing so hard she didn't pay any attention to the well placed shot. Right at that moment, Lee's father walked into the room. After quickly evaluating the situation, he did a mocking thumbs-up to Lee, and about-faced down the hall right back into his parents bedroom. Lee groaned. "Very bad timing, Ruby." She brought up both hands to defend her innocence. Giggling, Ruby clicked another button on the display, causing a small holographic cross-hair to light up above each wrist. Lee looked at Ruby with sarcastic gratefulness. "Cause that will make ALL the difference." He smirked. Ruby looked at the others, and thought up something useful. "Just an idea... Wanna take this outside?" Lee walked over and opened the front door, after grabbing Yang a towel.

Now outdoors, the group resumed the "training". "Okay, now try you middle finger." Ruby calmly asked. He did so, and this time the water came about as a horizontal wall, an attack used for multiple, close range enemies, in Lee's mind. After that, his ring finger caused a quick succession of small bursts. And finally, his pinkie made all three barrels shoot powerful streams. That was the new favorite. Looking at his display, a good forth of the D Cases had been depleted. "The blades, Ruby?" He asked inquisitively. She merely had him bring his hand into a fist, and two 3 foot extensions of double edged metal expanded from under each wrist with a few clicks. "Wow" He took to an overly dramatic pose, poised to strike an invisible enemy. "This is pretty awesome!" he sliced at the family's mailbox, jumping back as the small red flag was sheared off with ease. With a roll of the eyes, he collapsed the blades.

"Interesting way to take down a mailbox, Mr. Kangano." The team froze the minute the cool tone hit the air.

Ozpin stood on the sidewalk behind them, coffee in hand.

**Sorry for the delay! I have been under an extreme load for the past week or so. With exams over, more focus can be put into the story! I will get to the YANG X LEE pairing soon, be patient. Ozpin finally met up with the team and Lee. What happens next? Stay along for the ride, and the answers will come! Comments/Reviews are very welcome. Thanks! *C707 HAS LEFT THE BUILDING***


	5. Change and New Acquaintances

**-CHAPTER 5: CHANGE AND NEW ACQUAINTANCES-**

* * *

"Uh, hello Headmaster Ozpin..." Ruby and the team stood in silence, waiting for any response from their superior. "Mr. Kangano, do you know who I am?" Lee took a step forward, and spoke up. "I believe you are, from what the girls mentioned, Headmaster Ozpin, the one man that oversees Beacon Academy." The man merely nodded, and adjusted his spectacles. "You are very right. But, I must ask, do you know why I am here?" Lee's brow tightened. "Uh, no Sir, I have no idea why." Lee recalled his father teaching him that any person of a respectable position and reputation should be treated like an officer of the Vale Guard, for the sake of first impressions and such. The boy waited for a response. "Assuming you have prepared for a moment like this in the past, I am here regarding you and this "Liquid Dust". Lee straightened his posture and stood still. "And, Sir?" Ozpin caught the "Sir" this time and saw through Lee's posture and tone. "Relax, Lee, I am not here to give you a military briefing." Lee relaxed, and casually sheathed the blades, although quietly as possible. "As I was saying, what you have accomplished lately has caught my attention." Lee shot glances at the four girls, all but Weiss returned blank stares. Lee kept his composure. "I also see that team RWBY has equipped you with weapons capable of utilizing that Dust." Lee nodded. "If I may ask, what are you getting at, Professor"?

Ozpin drank from his mug once more, and pulled out his scroll. Pulling up the video of Trial 38, he flipped it around to show Lee. "Nothing like this has ever been attempted before, Mr. Kangano." Lee scratched the back of his head as Weiss's scream left the device's speaker. " Lee, I rarely meddle in the affairs of the people of Vale, unless they are my students. But in this case, I see untapped potential." Lee stood incredibly still. "I rarely enroll students like Ruby into Beacon years early. This, however, would be the first time a regular boy like you ever entered the Academy." Lee adjusted a gauntlet, and mentally prepared for what was next. "What I am getting at, Mr. Kangano, is that I would like to see what you can provide for my Academy, and Remnant itself. In other words, I would like to bring you to the academy for a week, aid your knowledge of Dust with my instructors, and use the progress achieved to determine if you stay or leave." Lee's signature grin returned. "I'll give you an hour to pack. Your parents have already completed the necessary paperwork via scroll, so do not worry about that. Me and team RWBY will depart at the local airdocks." Ending with a nod, Ozpin left the group to discuss amongst themselves.

"Lee! Looks like you going with us!" Yang punched him in the shoulder, grinning. Blinking, he was again speechless. The girls saw this, and began dragging him back into the house.

Throwing anything that appeared useful into a large duffel-bag, Lee sat down on his bed with a sigh. "Beacon Academy... wow." He looked at his room for a good amount of time. Various article clippings of Grimm attacks and Famous Huntsmen/Huntresses occupied the wall behind a small work desk. Lee's father poked his head into the bedroom. "Lee, you mind if I talk with you?" He sat on the desk after his son nodded. "I just want you to know, even if you don't make the cut, I will be just as proud of you." Lee's father smiled. "Now, give your old man a hug." Lee gave his father a strong hug, and shook his hand. "It's only a week. I'm not leaving for good!" Lee smiled as his father chuckled. The man brought a hand above his mouth to whisper. "By the way, try to fix the marksmanship around Blondie, ace." He gestured to Yang in the living room. Lee playfully shoved his father as he walked out of the room. "I'll see you around." Now in the living room, he gave his mother a hug, and left with the team.

The downtown airdocks of Vale greeted the posse with the bustle of people and cargo. Walking to the correct gate, Lee gazed at a large grey vessel. Must be a member of the Beacon Fleet. Turning around to face the group, Ozpin met them at the dock leading to the vehicle. "Are you all ready to depart?" The group nodded in unison. Turning to face the craft, he beckoned the group aboard.

The structure left the docks with surprising agility for its large size. Grabbing onto the arm of his chair, he tensed as the G-Forces weighed down on him. Looking at the girls, he noticed that they seemed indifferent. "I figure you ride these things every weekend, right?" He asked. "Pretty much, from the looks of it I assume you haven't?" Yang replied. He laughed. As far as he could remember, he never had. "Uh... yeah." Yang nodded. "After four trips or so, you get used to it." Their focus shifted as Ozpin called for Lee's attention. "Lee, with it this late into the year, we have no dorm placements left. Consider this a part of Adaptability Training. You will need to find a reasonable place to rest each evening." He gave Lee a multiple page map of the Academy. "If I find you resting in an...unorthodox manner-" He glanced at both Yang and Lee. "Your experience at Beacon may not be as pleasant as you first thought." Finishing, he returned to his single chair up near the cockpit. Both now shades of red, the rest of the group laughed. Lee stood, and walked over to the windows. "Never had the chance to see such a beautiful thing..." He quietly said to himself. In reality, Yang's reflection showed up pretty well on the glass, but nobody else had to know.

The airdocks at Beacon Academy came into view right as Lee took his focus off the brawler's glassy duplicate. Staring at the architecture of the great buildings, he brought his breath in. This. Is. Really. Happening. Returning to his seat, he began to get eager. "And you guys go to class here everyday..." Ruby smiled. "Speaking of classes, what did you end up with, Lee?" As if on cue his scroll chimed at him. "Well, Ruby, besides your standard classes, I have an additional one: Advanced Dust Mechanics." Weiss looked up quickly. "Lee, your taking the ADVANCED course?" He nodded. "Rarely do I say it, but that is impressive..." Ruby looked at Weiss with confusion. That was the second time something out of character came from her. "But I digress, we have nearly arrived. Get ready."The ship docked with a few jolts and rattles.

Lee left the ship with timid steps, only to be pushed on by the group. Ozpin left straight for his office, again leaving the group. "So, Lee, how 'bout a little training?" Yang's straightforward invitation brought theories to his mind. "I guess I will give it a whirl, whats the worst that can happen?"

Bad idea. That was a very bad idea. Staring up at the ceiling from the ground, Lee tried to figure out why he even agreed. Was it the eyes? The smiles? What? He stood up once again, and stood in the combat pose Yang showed him many times earlier. Walking around him, she assessed every part of his stance. Out of nowhere, she swiftly brought his right shoulder back, jutting a foot out to trip him from behind. His new combat pose countered this, and he maintained his balance. "Good, very good..." Yang nodded with a smile of approval. The would-be combat training was progressing faster than Yang thought.

"So now, how about a little blade-work?" She asked. Lee brought a strong breath in and out, and reluctantly agreed.

Lee let the gauntlets do their thing, giving a satisfying grunt when the blades shot out from each wrist. "Now, I may not be the best with swords and such, but a gauntlet is still a gauntlet."Yang stated. She pulled his arms into a boxing pose, the blades almost crossing. "Jabs and Slashes should work best for this." She pulled the right arm down and forward, and had him mimic her on his own after. Yang then pushed his left arm up, and pulled it down diagonally to the left. After a good ten minutes of this, Lee was catching on.

"I think that should cover a small amount of the basic stuff. It would be an idea to search up on some of Vale's best historical fighters." Yang punched him in the shoulder. "Does any accomplishment you have for me require a punch?" Lee asked, jokingly. "Only if it means making you better." Yang smiled, and left the training room. Lee walked over to the bleachers, and grabbed his duffel bag. Looking up at the time, he barely noticed that now was the time dinner was being served. He grabbed his things, and left for a quick shower.

* * *

Lee emerged from the steamy locker room fresh, and rather peckish. Shaking the last of the water from his head, he made for the cafeteria.

He arrived with a look of appreciation for the buildings great capacity. The line was long nevertheless, but he didn't mind.

After retrieving a hardy steak, he grabbed his utensils and drink. Putting in his number series at the pay counter, a cook gave him a look of curiosity. She silently waved him off, tossing the subject. Scanning the seats, he only had a few seconds to search before Ruby's enthusiastic waving caught his eye.

Sitting down at the table, he got to work on his meal. Throughout the team conversation, he added plenty of nods and shakes of the head; the steak was just to damn good to stop eating and speak. Completing the task at hand, he let his fork and knife hit the plate with victory as he dropped both. The group looked over to him after the clanking. "Oh come on, guys, you gotta admit, that was a big steak!" He declared valiantly. The group eventually nodded, noting his large appetite.

Dinner wrapped up, and the students returned to their dorms. Wandering the halls, Lee couldn't help but notice the odd looks he was getting. He wasn't assigned a dorm, in honesty only a handful of people knew who he was. He walked around to discover a very large window at the end of a hall, letting the lights of Vale show through easily. The shattered moon he knew to well rose to greet him. As he admired the view, he stood still as the quiet yet heavy footsteps of four individuals arrived behind him.

"Hey boys, looks like the "scientist" from downtown found the skylight."

Cardin's voice made Lee clench his jaw. This was probably going to hurt.

**Very sorry for the delay! Spring Break is treating me nice, I am making up for the time lost. Lee goes to Beacon for a week! He gets a grasp of combat training, only to meet up with CRDL. What happens next? Can Lee find a place to sleep? Will Monday's breakfast be good? Stay online as CHAPTER 6 is now a WIP! Comments/Reviews are very welcome. Thanks! *C707 HAS LEFT THE BUILDING***


	6. The Hurt, The Feels

**-CHAPTER 6: THE HURT, THE FEELS-**

* * *

"You need something?" Lee asked casually. Cardin merely scoffed. "Well bud, to start, I'm gonna need you to turn around." Lee did so, a serious look locked in his complexion. Now facing his problem, Cardin brought his face in real close to Lee's. "You shouldn't be here bud. We heard about ya, now why don't you just take your chemistry set and run home, eh?" Lee raised a brow. "That so?" He kept his cool. Lee had encountered guys like this back at school, this situation shouldn't be too different.

Cardin let out a sly smile. "That's right. Now, it wasn't a question." Lee's new-found menace removed a mace from his back. This time Lee scoffed. "That's a pretty large mace. Are you..._compensating for something_?" Cardin's grin left his face. Bringing a fist out of nowhere, the contact with Lee's chin threw him into the glass. It cracked, and a corner left its place, falling to the ground floors below.

Dove and Russel grabbed Lee's arms, and held him against the glass. With a swing, Cardin's mace landed true, right in Lee's chest. He screamed, and began coughing. "Shut that mouth!" Cardin grabbed his victim's chin. Letting the mace fall to the ground, he brought a fist up. "You have a lot of nerve, guess you'll leave on a stretcher." He let go of Lee's chin, and proceeded to punch Lee's face, letting both arms take turns. Blood began leaking from Lee's nose. His sight began to blur, sounds became muffled.

With one last punch, Cardin finally stopped. Stretching a shoulder, he let out a huff. "Quite the evening workout, might even be a little sore..." He motioned for the guys to let Lee go. They reluctantly complied, leaving the boy to sway in place as he stood. Taking a weary step forward, he let the blade of his right gauntlet release. "Oh, the hero still stands?" Cardin laughed. With a strong punch, he sent Lee careening back,

right through the window.

Yang and RWB were walking across the main courtyard when they heard the sound of breaking glass. Stepping on a broken piece, Yang looked up to see a boy their age rolling down the roof, his trench-coat worn only by a sleeve. He left the first edge, crashing off a gable roof. Ceramic tiles took flight, along with the coat. Careening down another slope, he finally left the structure, falling the last two levels into the concrete. The group screamed with the thud. Looking up to the source, a shocked team CRDL stared out of the glass cavity. One of the members, Sky, looked like he was about to lose his dinner.

"DAMN YOU CARDIN!" Yang cried. Running over to the crumpled body, the team gasped at the sight of it being Lee. A broken blade was embedded in his left shoulder, its partner dented and scratched from the fall. Blood seeped onto the ground. Unconscious, the bruises on his face already had started forming. "Ruby, get him to the infirmary!" She did so, struggling with the weight of Lee's body as the disappeared in cloud of rose pedals. Weiss and Blake exchanged glances as they began to feel heat radiate off of Yang's hair. "Yang, take it easy, they'll get whats coming for them." Blake calmly asked, attempting to settle a seriously ticked off brawler. The warmth subsided, and Yang fell to the ground, in front of a crimson mirror. Looking back up, she saw nothing; the culprits had already fled the scene.

* * *

Yang returned to the dorm, teary eyed. Blake and Weiss had left to see Ozpin. Now alone, she fell onto her bed. Lee might be dead, as far as she knew, it was quite unsettling. Yang thought to herself, she enjoyed Lee being around. His calm demeanor, mature attitude, and overall self had earned her admiration. Sure, she had dated many time before, but almost all of them were players, looking for "five minutes of fun". Lee simply enjoyed her company, he valued her presence. She wanted to come clean: She had fallen for him. He just had to be alive first. Wiping the tears away, she ran for the infirmary.

* * *

Lee was held down on the surgery table. Heavy sedatives ran through his veins as his sharp companion was removed from his shoulder. Once things wrapped up, the team of medical staff moved him into a bed to recover, and finally let the team see him.

As he slept, Ruby waited for the rest of the team, jumping when Yang barged through the door. Running up to a nurse, she asked for the damage. "Well, this one was pretty bad. A broken nose, 4 shattered ribs, dislocated jaw. Plus, that blade could've cut his arm completely off. He is lucky the sliver of aura he had going at the time was even there. This just goes to show that only the best make it through this school." Yang thanked the nurse, and moved to the bedside. Lee's face was now purple in various places, various cuts had scabbed over. Gauze covered both his nose and shoulder. A faint red tainted his teeth.

Ozpin, followed by Blake and Weiss, entered shortly after. Walking up to the bed, the headmaster looked the boy up and down, and shook his head. Grabbing his scroll, he dialed Glynda's number. "Miss Goodwitch, send team CRDL to Infirmary wing, ASAP." His associate left the screen.

A short while later, team CRDL and Glynda Goodwitch arrived at the Infirmary. Disarmed, dishonored, the four stood in a line as she told them to do so. Ozpin turned his vision from Lee to Cardin. "Do I really need to say anything?" Ozpin set down his coffee, much to the groups horror. Cardin's arrogant expression fled the vicinity. "I have encountered many troublesome students over the years. But, this-" He held his hand in Lee's direction. "This is unacceptable." Ozpin removed his spectacles. To Yang's satisfaction, she swore Cardin began to shake. "Tell me, in your words, Mr. Winchester, what...happened?" Cardin began to mouth some words, but nothing came out. "**Speak, Cardin Winchester**!" Everybody, Glynda included, jumped as Ozpin rose his voice. Glynda didn't blink. In her mind, Ozpin always exercised control, even in situations like this. "Uh-h, we met the guy up by the Skylig-" Ozpin stopped Cardin in his tracks, holding up a hand. "His name is Lee Kangano, you WILL refer to him as so." Cardin nervously nodded. "We met Lee up at the Skylight. I told him to go home, and I had the guys hold him against the glass. And then..."

"What then, Cardin?" Ozpin asked, his stare locked on the boys face. "I uh-"

"You beat him to unconscious!" Ozpin finished the sentence for him. Cardin could barely nod to confirm. Ozpin looked at Glynda, who pulled out her scroll. Opening a surveillance video, it showed the entire event. Replaying it in front of Cardin, Ozpin let the video do the taking. "To finish him off, you sent him out the window!" The Headmaster said this right as the sound of glass breaking met the party's ears. Cardin swallowed nervously.

"This is unacceptable, Mr. Winchester." Ozpin regained his composure. Returning his glasses to their home, he picked up his coffee. Then, Lee opened his eyes. Ruby squealed, Yang's smile returned. Everybody turned to face him. Taking in the room, he sat up at the sight of Cardin. Yang caught him with a hand, and lightly pushed him back. "Wait. Just wait." Yang reassured him. Ozpin resumed the lecture.

"Cardin Winchester, Russel Thrush, Dove Bronzewing, You are hereby suspended from Beacon Academy indefinitely. All medical bills will be equally payed by you three." The owners of the names tightened as Ozpin concluded his punishment. "Charges may be pressed, if deemed necessary. All articles of combat have been seized and may not be returned. Your transport will leave in an hour." Ozpin turned his attention to Sky. "Although you are not completely involved, a later punishment will be issued for not reporting the incident. You are all dismissed." Glynda escorted the group of boys out.

Ozpin faced Lee after the deed was done. The boy looked at him with small confusion, then understood. "You will need to rest, your aura needs to regenerate more before you can be healed. I'm truly sorry for what happened. I have waited for team CRDL to mess up, I just didn't think it would be with you." Lee nodded, not wanting to move anything, as the sedatives were wearing off. "You can leave the academy as soon as the doctor clears you to do so, if that what is what you want." Lee took no time to decide. Wincing as he cleared his throat, he spoke. "Even if I am stuck in a bed, I would rather it be here than home." Ozpin nodded, and took a note on his scroll. "Rest easy, Lee." The man quietly exited the room, Glynda in his wake.

Yang, much to Lee's surprise, hugged him. Gasping for air, he wheezed, letting her know to let go. She did, a bit of embarrassment followed. "I- We thought you were dead.." she said, the event replaying over and over again in her mind. Lee shook his head. "If the Dust doesn't kill me, a fall wont either." Ruby smiled, another idea crossed her mind. Gathering the rest of the team, she brought them close. "Blake, you're good with aura. I have a question." Blake encouraged Ruby to continue. "Can each of us 'donate' some of our aura to help heal him?" Blake thought for a moment. "There is no guarantee, but it might work. The worst thing being us just wasting aura." Ruby smiled. "Lets do it." The group agreed, and turned to face Lee. Looking at them, he let curiosity lead the way. "What's in mind, ladies?" Ruby piped up. "We are gonna try to heal you, right now." He shot forward. "You guys have class tomorrow! You don't need to do that!" He tried his best to provide a good point. To his discontent, Ruby countered it. "As do you. You can't fall behind." He gave up on the argument, slumping back with defeat. "Do what you must."

Ruby and the girls all gathered their concentration. Surrounding him, they all placed a hand on his chest, minus Yang; She went straight for his hand. With a determined nod, he closed his eyes.

Four bodies emitted brilliant shades of light, only to be hidden by the brightest fifth.

**Chapter 6! Like I mentioned earlier, I'm just making up for lost time. But first, a shout-out to _GreatZero, KR Accel Max, Kurotsukiyomi, artorias19, warrior of six blades, and raven Righter _ for making this FF experience all the better! Plus, I just noticed: over 700 views! It may not be much for you FF Gods reading, but it sounds great by my standards...but I digress. A serious bombshell for the team and Lee! Can RWBY heal him? What will become of his future? Stay online to find out! Comments/Reviews are always welcome here. Thanks! *C707 HAS LEFT THE BUILDING***


	7. A Not so Warm Welcome

**-CHAPTER 7: A NOT SO WARM WELCOME-**

* * *

The room was filled with light. A nurse turned to face it, only to throw her hands up to save her eyes.

In his state of awareness, Lee could feel the life forces flowing in, every limb felt numb. His concentration was reduced to blank, again. Now within the blind void, he could only wait.

Ruby and the team fell to the floor simultaneously. All exhausted, they watched the blinding white light retreat to a soft glow. Slowly changing shades in a cycle, it moved from red, to white, to black, to yellow, and finally a green to match his eyes.

Only this time, he was again unconscious.

"We can only hope that worked, but I think it did." Blake said between breaths. The team agreed, and wearily returned to standing. "We will get up early tomorrow, and see if he recovered completely." Ruby commented, and began walking to the door. The nurse stopped the group dead in their tracks.

"Are you all suicidal!?" She asked, visibly angry. "A boy inexperienced with aura shouldn't be exposed to such a large amount! At one time!" The team was too tired to care, they just shrugged it off. "Get back to your dorms, before I get Goodwitch back in here." The Nurse muttered, getting the team to vacate the Infirmary with new vigor.

* * *

Settling down for the night, Ruby turned in her bed to face the other bunk. "You guys think he is alright?" She whispered. Weiss was the first to reply. "Only time can answer that question, Ruby. Try to get some sleep, we are all tired."

Just as Yang was shutting her eyes, something caught her attention. Lee's coat, hanging by a sleeve in front of the dorm window. Almost flying out of bed, she threw the window open, grabbing a sleeve right before it fell. Pulling in her catch, she shut the window. Sliding back into bed, she grabbed a flashlight. Looking over the coat, she patted off the dried drops of blood from the beating. Setting it on her nightstand, she shut the light off, and fell into a light sleep.

* * *

Lee woke in the middle of the night. The lights of the Infirmary had been dimmed, casting odd shadows off the various medical equipment. Craning his neck, he looked himself over. Bringing a breath in, he was surprised to feel the lack of pain/difficulty to do so. Turning his focus to his shoulder, he moved the robe to the side, revealing a new scar. Flexing that shoulder, a dull ache unveiled itself. Trying to work it out, he silently got out of his bead, making sure not to alert any medical staff. Cringing as his feet met the cold floor, he retrieved his belongings from a bin under the bed.

Slipping his other combat boot, he pulled the laces tight. His old shirt had a nice hole by the shoulder, so he grabbed another from his pack. Standing, he grabbed his backpack, and crept into the lobby. The nurse assigned to him was dead asleep at the front desk, obviously dazed by the lack of traffic. Slowly working over to the desk's console, he had mere seconds of moving the mouse before her hand smacked his away. Looking at him through tired eyes, she navigated to the RECOVERY tab, and removed him from the list. "I don't want to see you in here for a while, got it?" Her groggy tone kept him from using sarcasm.

"I don't plan on it, ma'am. Than-" He was about to finish, but her light snoring told him otherwise.

Walking into the dark halls, he rubbed his eyes to adjust to the darkness. The glow around him had faded moments after he woke, so there was no help there. Pulling out the school map, he mentally thanked Ozpin. Looking over it with the glare from the screen of his scroll, he began the "trek" to RWBY's dorm. Walking silently up a dark flight of stairs, Lee had only seconds to move before nearly walking into two random students leaned against a wall, making out.

"A little late in the evening for that, don't ya think?" He quietly proposed, trying to casually make his way by. The girl blushed profusely, while her male company just stood there dazed, still caught in the moment.

Landing on the correct floor, Lee double checked his location. The corridor led down to another Skylight, only this one had a bench in front of it. Slightly shuddering, he pushed certain thoughts of Cardin away. Walking down the hall, he stopped in front of RWBY's Dorm, the correct door marked with the acronym engraved in dark wood. Sliding down the door, he settled in for the night. Pulling his arms in, he did his best to keep warm. He would do anything to have his coat. _Must have been torn off in the fall._ Closing his eyes, he waited for sleep to take him.

Until the door to RWBY's dorm opened.

Falling onto his back, he stopped the door from slamming by catching it with a finger. Looking up to the ceiling, a pair of Lilac eyes greeted him. Yang had just gotten up, and was planning on grabbing some midnight coffee down in the cafeteria. "Lee! What are you doing here!" She asked in a hushed yet excited tone, making sure not to wake the others. Still on the ground, Lee smiled. "Ruby's scheme worked, I'm practically good as new... Well, almost.." He pulled down the collar of his t-shirt to show the new scar. Yang frowned. "I think that is as good as it gets. Now, get up off the floor." He picked himself u off the floor. Surveying the room, he noticed a poster, a painting, along with a torn curtain.

_Ruby..._ He snapped out of his thoughts, and noticed a office chair over by the room's desk. "Mind if I crash there?" He pointed to the chair accordingly. Yang shook her head, kicking herself mentally for not inviting him to rest...elsewhere.

Setting his bag on the desk, he was about to sit down when Yang stopped him. Looking at her questioningly, she brought up an offer.

"You up for coffee?"

* * *

The two walked down the hall silently until reaching the stairs. Stopping her, he gestured for her ear. Coming close, she listened intently.

"Almost ran into some lover boy and his girl on the stairs, just forewarning." Yang rolled her eyes. She had done the same thing more than once as well.

Meeting the couple once again, Yang and Lee had to walk by again. This time around the boy was aware of his surroundings. Seeing Yang with Lee, the boy fist bumped Lee in a way-to-go manner. Moving out of view, Lee pinched the bridge of his nose smiling as the two finished the last flight of stairs.

* * *

The cafeteria was just as dim as the Infirmary, causing Lee to kick more than one table on their way over to the drink dispenser. Typing in their lunch numbers, the two acquired their liquid objective before sitting down at the nearest table.

"Do you even remember the fall?" Yang asked as she cracked the tin lid off of her drink, holding it for a second before taking a sip. Lee shook his head before doing the same. "Cardin hit me good one last time, I passed out as I went through the glass." Yang shook her head. To be tugging on Velvet's ears was one thing, but almost killing a student was another. Lee swigged the beverage, wishing he had some of his father's hard creamer with him. His Dad let him try some when he was younger, only to have it spat out, the child running for a glass of water.

"Otherwise, I don't recall." He said. Yang nodded, a thought coming to mind. "Lee, your weapon is partially broken. What are you going to use?" She asked worriedly. Lee looked up, only realizing that now.

"I have no idea. Besides, with two per hand, I still have the one..." He smirked. that would be a problem. Hopefully he could get Ruby to fix it. Downing the last of his drink, he let the glass bottle hit the table with a light 'clink'. Yang did the same, and the duo walked back up to the dorm. Both were glad they didn't meet the romantic duo on the return trip.

Leaning back in his new chair, the rest came easy for Lee, despite the caffeine. Yang had settled down as well, leaving room on the mattress for a certain occupant of the dorm, just in case.

* * *

The sun greeted RWBY's dorm with a warm embrace. Waking from a well earned sleep, Weiss rose to her feet, only noticing a shirtless Lee asleep in the team's office chair moments later.

"LEE! WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN HERE!?"

**Chapter 7! With this chapter, I think I have reached 10000 words! Anyways, quite the surprise greets Weiss. With Lee healed, his only opposition now is classes. Lee's thoughts of Yang comes in the next chapter! Now, what happened to Lee's shirt? How will combat class turn out? Does the one gauntlet get repaired? Stay online to find out! Comments/Reviews are very welcome. Thanks! *C707 HAS EFT THE BUILDING***


	8. Classes

**-CHAPTER 8: CLASSES...-**

**Shout-out to a new follower: SlimPickensUK**

* * *

Lee flinched as he woke, promptly sending him spiraling backwards onto the ground in the chair. "What! I didn't do anything!" He argued, leaning his head up to see.

Ruby practically fell out of her bed at the commotion. Blake merely turned over in bed to see, while Yang jumped out of bed, Lee's shirt in tow. Realizing it was still in her possession, she tossed it over on top of Lee's coat. Sadly for Yang, the Heiress's gaze caught the action."Yang, can you explain to us ALL why you have Lee's t-shirt?" Weiss calmly asked, a mischievous grin creeping into view. "N-No reason in particular, its just that he seemed really hot while he was sleeping last night..." Yang stuttered, her eyes widening after the fact. Here comes the hail storm of verbal attacks..."Huh?" Lee remarked, realizing that Yang did indeed have his shirt. Glancing over from his current position, he smiled, and decided to sit back and enjoy the ride. "I see, and was he aware of it?" Weiss's grin expanded into an even more devilish smile, causing Yang to blush profusely."He very well might have, but I don't think he would have objected if he was awake..." Yang added, trying to get this over with. From the looks she was getting from both Blake and Weiss, it was obvious that her secret was out. Ruby gave a look of chuckled. Wearily standing up, he stepped in between Weiss and Yang. Today was the brawler lucky day, he would spare her some misery. "Hey now.." He interjected, holding both hands up. "If she wants the shirt, let her have it! I have no objections." He concluded by raising his both eyebrows twice, just to mess with Weiss. She squinted at him, disappointed that her fun was cut short."If I catch you two doing anything... Both of you are going out of that window." She jutted her thumb over to the dorm window. Lee's hand fell to his sides.

"Now that one stung a little, princess." Lee stated, sitting down in the chair after fixing it. She scoffed at him. Yang did a mental fist pump_. Yang / Lee 1, Ice Princess 0._ From the looks of it, she wasn't needing to work that hard to woo him.

"We will talk about this over lunch, eh?" Lee proposed to Yang. She casually shrugged her shoulders. "Sure, _just don't eat anything spicy."_

Lee turned blood red,nervously chuckling as a bead of sweat migrated down the side of his forehead. He always appreciated girls that were romantically bold, but this was a whole new level.

"FACE SUCKERS!" Ruby jokingly squealed, running into the bathroom with her uniform. In everybody's current attire, a new problem arose.

"Lee, you mind stepping into that closet over there? Us girls gotta get dressed..." Weiss pointed to the dorm closet, her tone uneasy yet firm. Lee shot up and bounded into the small room, hoping to avoid a possible rapier jab to the back. Just before he closed the door, he jutted his head out, squinting.

"No jokes about this, Yang."

She laughed as he closed the door. Taking a seat on the floor, he nearly crushed a pair of painfully tall golden high heels. _Now that would be a sight to see._ He thought to himself. Wandering into the land of his thoughts, he took the overly tempting route to continue: Sleep.

* * *

**-Lee's Dream-**

Through unexplainable methods of transport, he found himself within Beacon's Great Ballroom. Only for this occasion, balloons lay scattered about the floor, students dancing and chatting amongst themselves. _Must be a dance of some type. _The lights were dimmed, a slow tune filling the air. Donned in a sleek tuxedo, his gold bow-tie almost seemed flashy compared to its black and white counterparts. Standing by the open doors , his task at hand remained unknown until a certain person arrived.

Yang, now dressed in a sleek yellow sheath style dress, strode into the room with a look of confidence. The gown bore no straps, and had a seam up past her knee, revealing plenty of skin as she walked in. Lee's jaw hit the floor. Blinking a few times, he snapped out of his daze as his date found him. Moving with elegant strides, he could see and hear those same heels he remembered somewhere from the past.

"Aw, look at you! Quite fancy there _Sir." _Yang declared happily. Lee wiped himself down before fidgeting with his tie.

"Thank you-" He said with a bow. "Although I have to say, I have been outmatched in every manner... You look beautiful." Lee boldly stated. Yang blushed a little, and ran a finger through her hair.

Lee held out his arm, she gladly took it. Leading her out to the dance floor, a slow tune coincidentally met the couple's ears. Other students pulled their dates close, so Lee went with the flow. Drawing her near made his face heat up, he prayed she couldn't feel it.

Swaying to and fro with the song, Yang rested her head on his shoulder. He smiled, the night couldn't get any better than that.

The tune drew to a close, much to the discontent of many students. Yang wrapped things up by hugging him, and pecked him once on the cheek.

"I think we should head out, eh?" Lee asked gratefully. Yang shrugged.

"Does the balcony sound alright?" She asked. He nodded.

The two took a brief trip about the perimeter of the Ballroom to get to the large glass doors leading to the balcony. Leaning on the railing, he took in cool evening air. Feeling now was the right time, he brought the subject into play.

"Yang, I gotta tell you something.."

No response.

"Yang?"

Turning around to face his date, Cardin stood where Yang should have been standing. With a rough shove, he sent Lee toppling over the railing. The fall seemed endless, surley more than ten floors straight down. With the wind whipping around his blazer, he shut his eyes and cringed up, waiting for the impact. Everything went to black just before the ground met his face.

**-END DREAM-**

* * *

Lee woke with another jump. _Pretty good for a five minute dream, except for the end..._ Sitting on the floor of the closet was actually pretty relaxing. _Lets see, I was dancing with Yang, she kissed me, then I was gonna tell her something... What was it?_ He thought to himself. After enough mental strain, he remembered.

He was gonna ask her to be his girl.

Sure, she had some of the best looks around, but to Lee it was more than that. Yang was straightforward, direct with things. He loved it. She spoke her mind, another trait he found admirable. But most of all, she was there for him. She set this entire experience in motion, with just a little curiosity.

He decided to discuss this relationship stuff over their upcoming lunch.

A sudden bright light filled his little room as Yang threw the doors open. Squinting with the brightness, he got up and walked out to four girls dressed in similar uniforms.

"Wait, you have uniforms?" He asked worriedly. The clan of girls responded with blank stares.

"Guys, I kinda don't have one of those!" He pointed to himself. Flinging the dorm's door open, he was about to proceed to Ozpin's office when he tripped over a peculiar box, face-planting into the door opposite of RWBY's. Picking himself up, he had a few seconds to dust himself off before the door opened. A girl with crimson hair as long as Yang's poked her head out of the door.

"Hey there, you okay? The girl asked confused.

"Yeah. Just a little groggy, that's all." he replied, frowning as he rubbed his forehead. She closed the door with a soft click. Looking down at the crumpled box, a Blazer lay strewn on the floor. The remainder of the contents miraculously stayed folded and tightly packed. Grabbing both blazer and box, he went walked back into the dorm.

"What's that?" Ruby asked.

"It looks like my uniform..." He replied, pulling out a note, reading it aloud:

* * *

_Mr. Kangano,_

_This school uniform is to be worn through the duration of each school day. If a teacher requests that you wear your combat apparel for an event, you are permitted to do so. Causal attire may be worn after school and on weekends. Should you need to replace/resize part of your uniform, please see me or Miss Goodwitch. Any damage done will be payed out of your pocket._

The contents of this box should include:

_3 - Blazers, Blue vests, Dress shirts/Pants/Socks_,

_1 - Belt, Pair of brown Dress shoes, Red tie_

_The washing machines can process a full uniform in about ten minutes, so don't worry too much about that. Otherwise, wear it with pride, you earned it._

_-Headmaster Ozpin.  
_

_P.S. Try not to spill Dust on it._

* * *

_"_Well, that was oddly coincidental." He stated, raising his gaze from the page. Ruby had organized all of the new attire on one of the beds, ready to go.

"Your too kind, Miss Rose."

After changing clothes in the bathroom, Lee emerged with a minor sense of pride. The setup fit snugly, the gold trim on the blazer adding a tinge of sophistication to his appearance. Overall, the uniform fit perfectly.

"Looks sharp." Yang added with a grin.

"I hope so. Now, what about Grimm Studies at 9?"

Weiss's eyes narrowed before she slowly turned to look at the clock.

8:54.

"Is there any time I wont end up late with this blasted team!?" Weiss hollered as she ran out and down the hall, headed to class. RBY and Lee trailed right behind, in the mad dash for an on-time arrival.

**Chapter 8! Glad to have it complete! So, I'll keep this brief: Does anybody think I'm wandering away from the plot? Leave any thoughts if your up for it. Anyways, the posse is late for classes already. Can they make it on time? Will Professor Port bore Lee to death? Stay online to find out! Comments/Reviews are very welcome. Thanks! *C707 HAS LEFT THE BUILDING*  
**


	9. Taking a Break!

**Hey guys, C707 here. **

**So, I decided to move my focus away from our story for a little while. Over these 8 chapters I have developed many new ideas, and would love to put them into story form. **

**When I resume, give me at least a few days to brainstorm new things for Chapter 9 and beyond. **

**Also, another shout-out to a new follower/ favorite Author/Story - er: jcerezo0! **

**That's all I have for you all today. Thanks! **

**-C707**


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